These Bright Lights
by selanfene
Summary: My collection of Newsies drabbles.  Rating subject to change.  Title is random.
1. Make Babies

**Make Babies**

Jack sat back and set his pen down next to his paper. He had just spent the past half an hour of his study hall writing a letter—a _love _letter. It was to his best friend's sister, at that! He, Jack Kelly, was turning into some sissy love-letter-writer for his _best friend's sister_. She wasn't even in his league!

Still, he had spent a long, laborious half of an hour working on it, and he fully intended to deliver it. So, he leaned forward to read it one last time before folding it up to stick in her locker between classes:

_Dear Sarah,  
I love you. Make babies. Better yet, my babies.  
Love,  
Jack._

Satisfied with his work—even the penmanship was better than normal!—Jack folded the letter up and stuck it in his pocket, ready and waiting for the end of class bell to ring.


	2. Shut Up and Drive

**Shut Up and Drive**

"My engine's ready to explode, so start me up and watch me go. Get you where you wanna go, if you know what I mean—got a ride that's smoother than a limousine. Can you handle the curves? Can you run all the lights? If you can, baby boy, then we can go all night. Goes from 0 to 60 in 3.5—"

_Enough babbling about your car, Jack, _Spot thought as he lightly kicked the dash. "Baby, you got the keys—now shut up and drive."


	3. She's Like Heroin

**She's Like Heroin**

She flicked her light brown hair over her shoulder, unaware of the boy's eyes on her, savoring her every move.

"Are you okay?" The Italian asked his best friend.

"What? Yeah, fine. Why?"

"Oh... just wanted to make sure you hadn't... you know.. gone back to your old tricks."

Jack furrowed his brown. He hadn't done his "old tricks" in a month, and he was having a hard time of it. Heroin addictions were tough to conquer.

"No, I'm... good."

"Watcha lookin' at, then?"

Jack gestured at the Jacobs girl.

"She's not that spectacular," The Italian said incredulously.

"Are you kidding me? She's—she's... she's like _heroin_."


	4. Four Inches

**Four Inches**

"Wait, you're _serious_?"

"Dead."

"How do you know?"

"Uh... just—just don't ask, Mush."

"What about Sarah?"

"Blink! Who said I _did _anything with him?"

"Uh, you implied it."

"Yeah, well..."

"Wait, wait, Spot—Jack _seriously _has _four inches_?!"


	5. Vampires

**Vampires**

Blink shut the book. "So, Mush—vampires or werewolves?"

From the bed, head buried in his pillow, Mush replied, "Is that some weird metaphorical way of asking if I prefer hard or fuzzy?"

"Um... no? Christ, what are you _on_?"

Mush agily yanked his blonde boyfriend down on top of him and, mouths pressed together, flipped them so he was on top.

"You," he whispered breathlessly ten minutes later.

Unfortunately, Blink came to his senses and leapt up. As he stood blushing, clearing his throat, and straightening his clothes, Mush watched.

"Vampires, by the way," he said to his boyfriend's back. "I prefer vampires."


	6. Reasoning

**Reasoning**

"There's no reasoning to sexuality..." The sex ed teacher droned. He'd been explaining homosexuality in much (almost erotic) detail for three days straight. Jack wondered for the umpteenth time if sex ed teachers were only hired for their hideous appearance.

"...For instance... um, Jack Kelly. Why are you gay?"

Jack met Mr. Denton's eyes straight on. "Because boys have a penis and girls have a vagina."


	7. Amoeba

**Amoeba**

"Hey, Pinky, where the hell is your toothpaste in here?"

Race ambled into his bathroom and opened a low drawer, pulling it out and pressing it into his boyfriend Spot's hand. "Pinky?"

"Yeah. It's the smallest finger."

"Thumb...?"

"No' a 'inga." Spot spat into the sink and bore his teeth at his reflection.

"Riiight..."

"Well, hey, I could be calling you Amoeba."


	8. Italienisch

Italienisch

**A/N: Translations in (parentheses).**

**Italienisch**

"Hey, Tony, _vaffanculo _(fuck off)_."_

"Where'd you learn Italian, Spot?"

"Picked up a few things spending so much time around your family. Now seriously, _vaffanculo _(fuck off). I'm trying to think."

"_Non me ne frego niente, cornuto._ (I don't give a damn, motherfucker)"

"_Figlio di puttana, vaffanculo _(Son of a bitch, fuck off)!_"_

"I'm touched."

"Seriously, go away. Sexual tension _does not _help me think."

Silence.

"_La cosa piu' grande che tu mai imparerai è solo amare ed essere amato nel ritorno_.(The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return)_._"

"K, seriously, _figlio di put—_wait, what's that last one mean?"

Silence.

"_Vieni via con me e ci baceremo_ (come away with me and we'll kiss)_._"

"Eh? Stop using Italian I don't know!"

"_Le storie d'amore reali non hanno mai i conclusioni felici, perché le storie d'amore reali non finiscono mai._ (Real love stories never have happy endings, because real love stories never end)_._"

"...That one had something to do with love, didn't it."

"_Ja. Du bist nicht so klug. _ (Yes. You're not so smart.)"

"What?"

"_Ich habe Spaß mit dich. _(I have fun with you.)"

"Heyy... that's not Italian!"

_A/N: I apologize for any incorrect wording or grammar in either language. My friend Moiraine did some of the Italian translations, and the others I got from random places. I did the German at the end._

_REVISED VERSION A/N: Many thanks to Miss Sketch for her corrections on some of the translations._


	9. Soul Man

**Soul Man**

David smiled as he brought his mouth from Jack's. He had thought Jack would never ask! He replied, "Grab a rope, I'll pull you in. Give you hope and be your only boyfriend."

This time Jack leaned in for the kiss.

_Got what I got the hard way  
And Ill make it better each and every day  
So honey dont you fret  
Cause you aint seen nothing yet  
Im a soul man_


	10. Let's Talk About Spaceships

**Let's Talk About Spaceships**

_And what's that saying again?_

"_They're only words and words can't kill me."_

He examined his toes, sitting on the low table in front of the couch, trying not to listen to the words his boyfriend was saying. He thought he was hearing the end.

His hand shot out, grabbed Racetrack's arm. "Let's talk about spaceships, or anything except you and me, okay?" He gasped.

Race gulped. "Okay."


	11. The Kid Goes Wild

**The Kid Goes Wild**

Gabriel Conlon crouched in the bitter night, clutching the cold barrel of the gun. Looking up at the Brooklyn Bridge, he whispered, "You're mine now." With a last wrench, he pulled the pistol from the slack hand.

_A cold blood murder   
For twenty and change  
The very next day the newspaper read   
Angry and young, under the gun  
The kid goes wild!  
Rebel alone, heart of a stone  
The kid goes wild!_


	12. Take Good Care of the Poor Boy

**Take Good Care of the Poor Boy**

She was thin, too thin, and obviously cold. Her clothes were dirty and not warm enough for the New York winters. Krimped, fluffy hair covered a smooth face. Her eyes were nothing more than lost, darting depths.

"Take good care of the poor boy," she rasped, pushing Francis forward. "Oh, Lord..."


	13. This is the Day

**This is the Day**

Mush woke early. The face next to his had a serene smile and was quiet.

_Your skin is white, your eyes are blue  
This is the day._

"Wake up, Blink. This is the day."


	14. In the End

**In The End**

Jack remembered this room all too well—the cold, mildewed walls with a barred hole, the spring-bed, the single candle—

_I tried so hard and got so far  
But in the end, it doesnt even matter_

The Refuge. Again. The opening in the door squeaked open and Crutchy's hopeful face appeared.

_I had to fall, to lose it all  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter._


	15. Cocaine We're All Going To Hell

**Cocaine (We're All Going To Hell)**

Racetrack stands clutching the edge of the sink. He watches himself shake in the smudged, dirty mirror in front of him. He's got a little bag in his pocket and a straw too short to drink from.

_Go out and have your fun tonight,  
you might as well go out and raise your drinks to life, 'cause we're all going to Hell..._

He reaches into his pocket.

_So give me one last line and I promise you I'm done -  
This is the story of how one night can weigh a ton._


	16. Eighteen

**Eighteen**

Jack watches the rain fall on his window. _Santa Fe isn't supposed to rain, _he thinks. He's been there for a month and misses New York fiercly.

_I'm in the middle without any plans  
I'm a boy and I'm a man  
I'm eighteen  
and I don't know what I want  
Eighteen  
I just don't know what I want  
Eighteen  
I gotta get away  
I gotta get out of this place!_


	17. Have You Ever

**Have You Ever**

"Hey, Dutchy, what's up?"

"Have you ever walked through a room and it was more like the room passed through you?"

"What?"

"Have you ever been in a place, recognizing every single face till you realized that there was no one there you knew?"

"Um, Dutch?"

"Have you ever—falling, I'm falling...!"

"...Fuckin' melancholy drunks."


	18. Blink

**Blink**

Kid Blink stands in the window, watching the scene below. The clock says 2:17 AM and he should be in bed.

But so should his boyfriend Mush, who is currently standing on the sidewalk passionately kissing someone Blink thinks he recognizes.


	19. Bumlets

**Bumlets**

He isn't sure what he's doing, really, or why he's doing it, but he knows something pink and vaguely bunny-shaped is about to happen. After all, easter's Swifty's favorite holiday.

Bumlets idly wonders if the easter bunny is a boy or a girl.


	20. Dutchy

**Dutchy**

Spring air brushed his face, just warm enough to go outside without a jacket. He leapt nimbly to the ground, the moon illuminating his face. He beamed at his boyfriend as they began to run hand-in-hand.

The beach was deserted, just them and the sand.

---

Spring air brushed Dutchy's face as he pulled himself up into his window, the first rays of sunlight illuminating his as for Specs to grin at.


	21. Jack

**Jack**

He's lying on his bed, moaning at his best friend, David. He's just been turned down _again_ by his dream woman—_for the third time_. He says, "I told her that I don't smoke or drink. She told me to loosen up."

David smothers his laugh in a Diet Coke. "You walked right into that one, Jack. Your lungs probably look like tar and you're the biggest alky I know!"

Jack glares.


	22. Mush

**Mush**

Mush blew a few piercing notes into his trumpet. He hadn't played in years—since collge. Since... since Blink died.

He'd given up a lot of things when Blink died—trumpet, dating, friends, ...happiness...

Well, he'd have to start with the easiest to fix. He let out a frustrated blat, then played half a scale.

He'd start with the easiest.

...Tomorrow.


	23. Racetrack

**Racetrack**

The cards were his friends. They bent to his will, got him through hardships, did everything with him. They were missing their ace of hearts, but had one from another deck in its place.

Jack had David. Mush had Blink. Dutchy had Specs. Well, Racetrack had his cards, and that was good enough for him.


	24. David

**David**

"I don't belong here, Jack," David hissed. He wasn't rich or cultered. These people were obviously very much both.

"Don't be a pussy," Jack replied. "They're all so drunk they'll probably think you're my cousin Marvin."

David walked into the room. A short woman with an ample bust collapsed on him. "Marvin!"


	25. Skittery

**Skittery**

Skittery sighed, resting his head on his hand and gazing blankly at... well, actually, he wasn't sure. He didn't know the boy's name...

But he sat and watched. For once, he was still.


	26. Specs

**Specs**

_Pot._

Learning about it in Health made him nervous. He was still a little high, and the paranoia was sticking around.

_They all know, _it said.

_They all know anyway, _his rational side added.

"May I have a bathroom pass?"

Outside the room, he pulled out a joint to ease his nerves.


	27. Spot

**Spot**

Spot pouts slightly, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. It's cold and he's locked out of his house. _Maybe I oughta just find someplace else..._

He begins to walk, but he's barely gone a block before a rich Italian pulls up in a convertible and says, "Hey, stranger, going somewhere?"

Spot sees Race and answers, "Yeah, home with you."


	28. Maps

David Jacobs is six miles from home

David Jacobs is sixty miles from home. He has seven and a half dollars in his pocket and feels like throwing up. He hasn't had a shower in four days; his hair is greasy and he smells to high heaven. Jack sits to his left, one hand on the wheel and one hand out the window, a cigarette hanging from his fingers. David has no idea where they're driving, and he's pretty sure Jack doesn't either. Every now and then, Jack glances over and David, who just tries not to be looking at the same time.

"Do we have a map?" David asks once when Jack looks over, carefully averting his eyes.

"Do we need one?" Jack takes a drag of his cigarette and raises his eyebrows. He knows perfectly well that David has never done anything like this in his life. If Jack hadn't come along, he probably never would have.

David doesn't know what to say. His whole life he's been following maps—he always knows where he is, where he's going, and how he's going to get there. At this point, he's pretty sure he should be having a panic attack because he has no plans and he can't _get _any plans without a map, but somehow, David feels completely at ease. He looks over at Jack.

Jack Kelly has never looked so happy in his life. He is driving down a road he's never been on before with his best friend-slash-boyfriend beside him, heading away from his past and heading towards his future. Sometimes David wonders if Jack ever fears the future—other times, he's pretty sure he knows the answer. Jack seems never to fear anything but fear itself.

David can't take his eyes off Jack. He leans back in his seat, sets his feet on the dashboard, and decides not to think about what could go wrong.

David Jacobs is sixty miles from home. He has seven and a half dollars in his pocket and feels like throwing up. He hasn't had a shower in four days; his hair is greasy and he smells to high heaven. Jack sits to his left, one hand on the wheel and one hand out the window, a cigarette hanging from his fingers. David has no idea where they're driving, and he's pretty sure Jack doesn't either, and David has never been happier.


End file.
